For me as I look back. Session 400 was number 1
Vegas 400 number2 . Evans fet 400 was a great amp. Jbl
E130. Speaker be now only in my bed room. Peavey special 130 in a Nashville 400 cabinet. Got three of them that I built.....

P.w

Larry Dering

From:Missouri, USA

Posted 8 Mar 2019 7:35 pm

I'm happy with the session 400 but like Paul my special 130 with a TC Furlong 12 inch speaker sounds very good. Hey Paul, can you post a picture of your builds? I'm considering the same thing.

Darvin Willhoite

From:Roxton, Tx. USA

Posted 8 Mar 2019 8:37 pm

I also have a Special 130 I put in a modified Pacer cabinet. I have a SICA speaker in mine, and it sounds great for steel. I dressed it up a little with the piping and moved the emblem over to the corner to get it out from in front of the speaker.

_________________Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, as well as several older MSAs, and a bunch of amps, new and old.

Larry Dering

From:Missouri, USA

Posted 9 Mar 2019 7:39 pm

Darvin, did the Pacer have to be modified much and is that a 15 inch Sica?

Larry, the cabinet was from a later Pacer and had the same chassis size as the Special 130. Earlier Pacer chassis were different, which had differently spaced mounting holes, but I think the cabinets were the same. Yes, that is a 15" SICA._________________Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, as well as several older MSAs, and a bunch of amps, new and old.

Mike Brown

From:Meridian, Mississippi USA

Posted 11 Mar 2019 5:36 amPeavey

Thanks for using our products.

Bob Carlucci

From:Candor, New York, USA

Posted 11 Mar 2019 8:33 am

Best one I have ever heard, bar none, and They can be had all day in nice shape for $150 or less.... bob
_________________I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!

no gear list for me.. you don't have the time......

Dick Wood

From:Springtown Texas, USA

Posted 11 Mar 2019 12:02 pm

The session 400 was one of the few amps I could never get a decent tone from. Session 500 and Nashville 400 were two of the best but these days it's the Quilter without a doubt._________________Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night.

Get one of each...figure out which you like best..sell the others for little or no loss and view it as just renting...IMHO!!! I have the Vegas..Nashville 400 and Nashville 112..haven't got around to changing speaker in Nashville112 but I think it could be a top choice with new speaker and the weight reduction..the Vegas would be 2nd because it has two complete EQed channels which works well for a steel player who doubles on guitar also_________________Music is good for the soul..playing it is even better! Gretsch6strLapSteel*PeaveyNashville400*HudsonSD-10*DigitechRP360*FenderChampion100*PeaveyKB300*Goodrich120*Behringerx1204*BehringerMini4*Mullen S10"Discovery"*Peavey Vegas400*Princeton112plus*SuperChampX2*SidekickReverb65*Rumble100*MarshallMG50DFX*Nashville112

Last edited by Derrick Unger on 9 May 2019 6:01 am; edited 2 times in total

Dave Mudgett

From:Central Pennsylvania

Posted 13 Mar 2019 12:29 am

Session/LTD 400 by far. Sorta like a solid-state Twin Reverb with additional midrange control and more juice. Discrete transistor preamp, practically indestructible. Followed by Nashville 400.

Mike Brown

From:Meridian, Mississippi USA

Posted 13 Mar 2019 5:35 amPeavey Steel Amps

Although I own and play through either the Nashville 400 or an original Session 400, I sincerely believe that the Nashville 112 is our best yet in a small rehearsal amplifier. But, the Session 115 combines all of Peavey's 45 plus knowledge pertaining to the steel guitar amplifiers.

When given the opportunity to play, I take one of the above four amplifiers. Everyone has it's own identity/sound. Try the Nashville 112 or Session 115 when you get a chance.

Doug Earnest

From:Branson, MO USA

Posted 14 Mar 2019 8:58 pm

If there is a slightly below average ability local critter lodge player, it is me. I've played lots and lots of dances at the clubs, and found my way to the stage of a fair number of nice regional festivals and a few opening acts for bigger shows. I am Mr. Average Player, but I do have fairly good ears.

Over the years since about 1976 I have used all the Peavey steel amps except the Session 500 the new Nashville 115 and several Peavey amps that were not designed specifically for steel. None have ever let me down in any way, and a good many of them had not lived particularly pampered lives. Mainly I would double on guitar and steel, with some fiddle thrown in occasionally.

The only one I had that I truly did not like and could not beat a tone out of was the Session 400 Ltd. I bought it brand new, one of the early run of them. No bass to be had and everything that it did have was hard sounding. Sorry, thems the facts on that particular one. No one in the audience ever complained.

A 1975 Session 400 with Peavey JBL speaker has provided very good service, I like it a lot. It could stand to be freshened up a bit, but why would it not after 44 years??? I'm 60 and could benefit from a good service job myself.

I have a couple of LTD 400's that I like very well, I just have spent more time with the Session 400. It was in 1979 when a great player with a red D10 MSA Classic SS through an LTD 400 with Peavey JBL ruined me for life....! Seriously.

The one Peavey amp that I really and truly like for pedal steel above the others, all uses and factors considered, is my early model Nashville 112. I think the label says it all - High Definition. The stock amp was perfectly fine but I will say that after I put some in some upgraded chips and substituted a Telonics speaker I have absolutely zero complaints with the little bugger, and it's still less than half the price of about any other credible steel amp. It's plenty loud, easy to move about, and the headphone jack defeats the speaker output. The only reason I did the modifications was that I got the speaker for next to nothing and I buy the chips wholesale and am capable of installing them. I mounted an adjustable bass drum leg inside the back of the cabinet to provide a tilt back feature. Looks factory and works great!

This post has gotten long already, but I want to say Thank You again to the Peavey folks for making darn near bulletproof equipment that the average guy can afford. Have I played through other amps that I liked better? Yes, I have. Was I willing to pay the price to own one considering my uses for an amplifier? No, I was not. Would one of those amps have made me sound any better? No. Peaveys have been the choice of Buddy Emmons, Buck Reid, Terry Bethel and a great number of others. Those amps will always be capable of sounding better than I do. More people have made more money playing through Peavey amps and sound systems than any other. Peavey's service department is second to none, providing factory service at ridiculously reasonable prices, even considering shipping costs.

Peavey, please find a way to justify continuing to help us out!

Larry Dering

From:Missouri, USA

Posted 15 Mar 2019 3:43 am

Well stated Doug and I second that testimony. Peavey has a proven track record with equipment that has stood the test of time. I have a boatload of Peavey amps and have yet to consider selling off any of it. Yes I have Fender and Quilter but at gig time Peavey gets the nod. You can't go wrong with a winning combination. At 70 I doubt I will ever need more than what I have already. Thank you Peavey.

Mike Brown

From:Meridian, Mississippi USA

Posted 15 Mar 2019 5:51 amPeavey Products

Wow! There couldn't be a better testimony than this. Thanks to Larry and Doug for the endorsement. Oh, don't worry, Peavey is still supporting steel guitar players everywhere on a daily basis, ie; by phone, this Forum, email, conventions and any of the other line of communication.

We have a "second to none" service department that has employees that were here in the 1980's that actually built some of the amps that they provide service on! Talk about FULL CIRCLE! The thing that impresses me the most being employed by Hartley Peavey for over 43 years is that he still supports the steel guitar market with products for the steel guitar market. Our first steel guitar amplifier was the Session 400, which Julian Thorpe, Curly Chalker and countless other players offered their expertise with the design of the original 1973 Session 400. The rest is history.

As long as we get support from the steel guitar community, you can bet that we will continue to offer great steel guitar amplifiers.

I don't have any experience with Peavey's steel specific amps, but I sure do love my Peavey Artist!

It is a fantastic double-duty workhorse. I found a 15" Black Widow that came out of Session 500 from the same era, put it in an extension cab - and WOW that little stack blows me away (and everyone else that plays through it)!!_________________Proud parent of a good dog.

Patrick Huey

From:Nacogdoches, Texas, USA

Posted 9 May 2019 4:19 am

I’ve had a Backstage, two Nashville 400’s, played a Vegas 400, and had three Session 500’s. Sold the first 500 because we lived in the upstairs of the funeral home with old wobbly floors and the 500 had the reverb tank on the cabinet floor and the kids always ran through the house about the time I’d sit down to play....shake the tank and wake the customers lol. When we moved into our current home with good solid concrete floors I purchased two more Session 500’s. They are by far my favorites...solid and clean crystal clear tone all the way to top volume_________________Pre RP Mullen D10 8/7, Carter S-10 3/4, previous Cougar SD-10 3/4 & GFI S-10 3/2, Peavey Session 500, previous Peavey Nashville 400, Boss DD-5, Hilton Digital Sustain, '88 Les Paul Custom, Fender Stratocaster, Takamine acoustics, Marshall amps, Boss effects, Ibanez Tube Screamer, and it all started with an old cranky worn out Kay acoustic you could slide a Mack truck between the strings and fretboard on!!

Greg Cutshaw

From:Corry, PA, USA

Posted 9 May 2019 5:35 am

I played through all the Peavey steel amps except the Session 115. My favorite is the Nashville 400 with the factory tone mod. I could not get a decent tone out of the Nashville 112 or Session 500. I've currently moved on to other types and brands of amps but Peavey's parts and service support are second to none.

The Session 115 seems really cool with it's stereo effects loop and dual power amps. Never tried or reviewed it but would have to have one with the 115-N extension cabinet so I could run the effects in stereo!

Last edited by Greg Cutshaw on 9 May 2019 5:37 am; edited 1 time in total

Eric Philippsen

From:Central Indiana, USA

Posted 9 May 2019 5:37 am

At my age more often than not I'm into fast setups at gigs. You know, set up the steel, throw the Goodrich volume pedal on the floor, plug in, tune and go. For those gigs it's either a NV400 (on wheels) or a NV112. I do remember going to steel shows, seeing whole backlines of NV400's and saying to myself, "Uhh, there's was a reason for that."

Nevertheless, a few times, like this weekend, I'll use a different setup when I'm not so lazy. A Sarno V8 through a Furlong cabinet. Simplicity and tone.

Peavey picks up and delivers to desert islands? Damn! That is some good service!!

Mike Castleberry

From:El Paso, Texas

Posted 11 May 2019 7:51 amPeavey Session Amp & 115N Extension Cabinet

I recently purchased a Peavey Robert Randolph amp and decided to sent it to Peavey to have it re-calibrated to the Peavey Session specs. Thanks to Mike Brown, the Peavey repair department replaced components and made adjustments that brought the amp to the Session amp specs. The amp and speaker cabinet are light and constructed of durable materials. Peavey are great people to deal with and the amp not only sounds fantastic for my steel, it's a great guitar amp too. Someday I will add another speaker cabinet, so I get the full 500 watts RMS power. Here are a couple of pics.

Paul Pearson

From:Alabama, USA

Posted 11 May 2019 11:21 amPeavey amps

I have used the nv 400 for a long time but the best all around amp for me is the nv 112 I get great tone out of it and I don't have to have a crane to move it around

J R Rose

From:Keota, Oklahoma, USA

Posted 11 May 2019 7:03 pm

My first Pro Steel I brought new was a Session 500, THE Steel Amp some say. Then got a Session 400 and never could make it sound right, just did not seem to have the guts in it. But then I found the LTD 400's and have used them off and on mostly thru the years. Two at a time side by side, To me they are a steel guitar's mate. I have used different speakers in them but the BW is hard to beat for that steel sound. I have three of them now. And I just discovered the Artist VT Series amp as someone else mentioned, put a new set of Tubes in her and it is a killer sound. Like the old Twin amps but with a warmer sound. Also heavy, 56 lbs. But I am going to play on it for a while. It has solid state pre section and four 6L6 power tubes. Peavey has given the steel guitar world a huge amount of steel amps and guitar amps and are still going strong. Keep on keeping on Hartly, J.R._________________Black Rains SD-10, Peavey LTD 400 with 15" Telonics, Sho-Bud Seat, Goodrich Pedal, Sho-Bud Bar, Picks, Cords.